Bar Corallo Website Design and Automation

This project involved the end-to-end website design for Bar Corallo, an authentic restaurant, bringing its vibrant, in-person atmosphere to life digitally. Working as the lead designer in collaboration with the agency Fiore Digital Services, my role was to create the full user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design.

I worked closely with the development team to ensure the design vision was translated into a fully functional, live website (barcorallo.com). The project's scope extended beyond a simple "brochure" site to include a complete, automated online reservation system with email notifications for both the customer and the restaurant admin.

The primary goal was to create a digital "front-of-house" that would not only manifest Bar Corallo's brand identity but also function as a core business tool.

Specific objectives included:

Drive Revenue: Create a seamless and intuitive online booking system to capture reservations 24/7.

Improve Operational Efficiency: Automate the reservation and confirmation process to reduce manual work for restaurant staff.

Enhance the Customer Experience: Provide customers with easy access to menus, location, and a reliable way to book a table.

Ensure Client Autonomy: Deliver a solution that allows the client to easily manage time-sensitive content, like menus, without developer help.

Designing a Functional Booking System: The reservation interface was the project's most complex component. It required mapping out a multi-step user flow, handling user inputs (date, time, party size), and designing the entire backend notification logic.

Client & Agency Collaboration: Working within an agency structure (Fiore Digital Services) meant managing client feedback and scope changes ("changes made to the site during the process") while keeping the project on track and aligned with the developers' technical capabilities.

Dynamic Menu Management: The restaurant needed to update its menu frequently. The initial idea of a hard-coded, on-page menu was inflexible and would create a bottleneck. We had to find a solution that prioritized ease-of-use for the client.

Designer-Developer Handoff: As the sole designer, I had to ensure my final designs were clear, documented, and feasible for the development team to implement accurately.

We successfully navigated these challenges by focusing on solutions that provided direct business value.

Solution 1: End-to-End Automated Booking Interface I designed a clean, multi-step booking form and, crucially, mapped out the complete automation flow. When a user books, the system automatically triggers two separate email confirmations: one to the user (confirming their table) and one to the restaurant admin (alerting them to the new booking).

Solution 2: Strategic Cloud-Hosted PDF Menu Instead of a complex, developer-dependent on-page menu, I designed a solution using a cloud-hosted PDF on Google Drive. The website features prominent "View Menu" buttons that link directly to this file.

Solution 3: Iterative Design & Prototyping To manage client changes and ensure alignment with the development team, I provided clear prototypes and design specs. This allowed for rapid iteration and feedback, ensuring the final live site was an ideal match to the design vision.

Design for Business Operations: This project taught me to think beyond beauty and design for the client's real-world business processes. The PDF menu solution, while simple, was the correct strategic choice for the client's operational needs.

The Full Scope of "Functional Design": I gained invaluable experience in designing complex, functional systems. Mapping out the logic, user states, and automated email triggers for the booking system was a deep dive into true product design.

Agency & Developer Collaboration: I successfully honed my ability to communicate design intent within an agency environment, acting as the bridge between client vision and technical implementation.

The final website is a productive asset for Bar Corallo. It captures bookings 24/7, saves the staff hours of administrative work every week, and gives the restaurant full control over its most critical content. The meticulously designed builds brand equity and gives new customers the confidence to make a reservation.